artificial sweetener
by Shauna3
Summary: Rory and Jess future fic. Mike seems like the perfect guy, isn't that all anyone ever wants?
1. Her Fragile World

A/N: I promise I am still going to be writing my other story but I had to start getting this one out of my head.  
  
Disclaimer: I do not have anything to do with Gilmore girls nor do I own the characters on that show.  
  
Everything was perfect. There were candles, a home cooked meal, wine and two people very much in love. The meal was almost over when his expression grew very serious. "There's something I have to tell you before we go meet your mother," he said in a shaky voice.  
  
Her blue eyes studied him intently. She wondered if it was bad news. Everything between them always seemed so perfect that she was always expecting something to go wrong. In had been her experience that the better the relationship, the worse the ending. Taking a deep breath, she finally managed to respond. "What's wrong?"  
  
He smiled. All his nervousness disappeared when he saw how concerned she had immediately become. "I wanted to tell you how much I love you. I love absolutely everything about you."  
  
She smiled, relieved that her fragile world wasn't breaking just yet. "I love you too." Smiling, she leaned over the table and kissed him.  
  
"Rory, there's just one more thing. Will you marry me?" He reached into his pocket and produced a ring box. She looked from him to the diamond ring. "Oh my god..." She hadn't been expecting this. Could she marry him? Could their lives really stay like this forever? He was so.. so .. sophisticated. He was grounded and reliable. She couldn't really understand why he loved her.  
  
She looked into his expectant eyes. "Yes..yes I'll marry you." There was no jumping or yelling as one would expect from a Gilmore. There was just a romantic kiss and then they left to meet Lorelai and Luke.  
  
As the bell on the door jingled, the newly formed couple that had given in to a kiss over the diner counter jumped apart. "People eat there you know." Rory scolded the pair.  
  
Lorelai jumped up from the counter and ran to her daughter. "Rory I missed you so much."  
  
Rory laughed. "Mom, it's been less than a week. Anyway, I'm sure you've been spending too much time with Luke to even think of me."  
  
"Never!" As Lorelai exclaimed this in mock horror, she noticed something sparkling on her daughter. "Oh my god!!! Rory!!! WHAT IS THAT?!"  
  
She glanced at her fiancé and sighed. "Well Mom, Luke, we were going to wait until greetings were over before announcing it bus since Sherlock over here saw it, we're-"  
  
"GETTING MARRIED!" Lorelai screamed.  
  
Rory laughed and nodded. Lorelai, unable to contain herself, turned to Luke. "RORY'S GETTING MARRIED!" Luke smiled. "Yes Lorelai, I heard you the first time. Congratulation guys." The couple smiled in response.  
  
As if on cue, the bell jingled again. Seeing Luke's face light up everyone turned to see who it was. In a barely audible voice, Rory whispered, "Jess."  
  
Luke examined him. Jess had written him a letter a year earlier that actually began a decent relationship between the two. Jess had grown a little and matured a little but in many ways he appeared unchanged. Luke approached him and the two hugged. When the hug ended, Jess turned to the three onlookers. His attention immediately locked on Rory and the strange expression she had on. "You're not going to say hi?" 


	2. Huh

Disclaimer: GILMORE GIRLS ARE NOT MINE ::sigh::  
  
A/N: Hehe.. okay so you guys got really caught up on the fact that I didn't name her fiancé but honestly it doesn't really matter. I kind of wanted you guys to see them together for a few seconds before making your judgements. You know, without going oohhh he sucks because he's not Jess (or Dean or Tristan or whoever you guys like). The important part is if a scenario like that sounds Roryish.  
  
Suddenly realizing that her new fiancé was beginning to notice her strange reaction, she tried her best to regain her composure. "No..um.. of course.. I mean, hi. How are you?" She attempted a smile, hoping that she recovered well.  
  
Jess, who had now focused on the new addition to her hand, replied knowingly, "obviously not as good as you are." He then turned to Lorelai, "Lorelai, you look exactly the same. I'm happy to hear that you and Luke are finally together." Lorelai, still in shock from both his sudden appearance and his sudden ability to speak in long sentences, could only smile.  
  
"So Jess how long are you back for?" Luke asked, somewhat oblivious to the uncomfortable girls near him.  
  
"Well, I haven't really made any definite decisions just yet. Know where I can stay while I decide?"  
  
"You know the way upstairs." Luke said with a smile.  
  
"Well I think I'm just going to go, you know, unpack and stuff. You guys look like you were on your way somewhere anyway." Jess started walking to the stairs, trying his best to absolutely ignore the man that stood hovering over Rory.  
  
Luke seemed to snap back into the present and turned to the girls. "Oh yeah we're going to be late we better go. See you when we get back Jess."  
  
They all stood and began to turn to the door. Jess nodded in response and only once both girls and Luke were turned away did he allow himself a good look at the other guy. He was about four or five inches taller than Rory, and had an average build. He had blond hair that was short and styled. Every single hair appeared to be in place. He looked like the perfect all American boy. He hated him. The man turned back to Jess for a second on his way out and Jess simply put on his famous expression of absolute indifference.  
  
After dinner Rory said that she wasn't feeling very good and wanted to go home. When Mike walked her to her door, he asked her the question he had been holding in all dinner. "Sooo... who's Jess?"  
  
Rory fidgeted with her hair. "Um.. Jess ..is .. Jess. He's Luke's nephew." She didn't really know what else to say.  
  
Looking at how nervous she was just talking about Jess, he frowned. "Yeah, I kind of got that part from Luke's excitement. Now tell me why you seem so upset about him being back."  
  
"Look Mike, I don't have a problem with Jess. Jess is Jess. He's Luke's nephew and that is all. There is nothing else. End of story. Now please do not ruin this day. This day was a good day. We're engaged. I am happy. That food we just had, however, was not good and I don't feel good. Now please drop this."  
  
Slightly taken aback from her somewhat explosive reaction, he decided to let it go. Maybe she really was just not feeling good. Maybe.  
  
When Luke arrived home, Jess was sitting on his old bed reading. He looked just like he had in high school. "Hey, you hungry?"  
  
Jess looked up at Luke, startled. "Oh hey. Um no I'm alright." He looked back at his book, but didn't start reading. Instead he casually asked the question he already knew the answer too. "So Rory's engaged?"  
  
Luke sighed. He wasn't crazy over Rory's fiancé. Mike seemed as though he was the perfect man, the one every parent would want their child to be with. There was something missing though. Something between them just wasn't exactly right. "Yeah, actually it just happened today."  
  
"Huh." Jess began reading again. 


	3. enter alexis

Disclaimer: GILMORE GIRLS ARE NOT MINE ::sigh::  
  
The next morning Lorelai came into the diner. She leaned over the counter and kissed Luke. "Coffee."  
  
"Good morning." He said without moving towards the coffee.  
  
She frowned. "Coffee?"  
  
"No 'Good morning'?"  
  
"Your lucky you got a kiss. Now coffee," she whined.  
  
Luke sighed and poured her coffee. She took a sip and put on her most charming smile. "Good morning Lukey my love."  
  
Luke shook his head.  
  
"So, Luke, any word on Jess's sudden visit?" Lorelai tried to ask casually. She was still a little in shock from the night before.  
  
"What do you mean? He said he'd visit when he could and I guess he can now."  
  
"Yeah, but why? And why now?" She didn't want to press the issue too much. Luke really was happy that he was here.  
  
"You mean why right when Rory gets engaged? Look Lorelai, I don't really know why he's here and why now. I'm just really happy that he's here."  
  
She smiled. "Okay, okay. Well I heard from Rory this morning and she's feeling better. She's actually meeting me here soon."  
  
"I'm happy to hear that. I was really worried about her last night."  
  
"Yeah me too."  
  
Rory walked in as Lorelai was saying this. "MOMMY!"  
  
Luke glanced up, "I think you've already had enough coffee today."  
  
Rory walked up to the counter and did her best puppy dog face. Walking up behind Luke and seeing her face Jess picked up the coffee pot. Handing her a filled cup he said, "Hey girls, Luke tormenting you guys again?"  
  
Rory looked at Jess. She had decided that she was not going to give him the satisfaction of having any sort of effect on her whatsoever. "Thank you Jess."  
  
Lorelai's phone rang and after a stern look from Luke she went outside. Rory and Jess were suddenly alone for the first time since his arrival. Studying her, he asked, "So you still mad at me?"  
  
She sighed. 'Mad' didn't exactly describe what she felt for him, not that she'd tell him anyway. "Nope."  
  
Jess smirked. She wasn't going to make this easy. "So do I have a shot at being your friend again then?"  
  
Rory's stomach jumped. Friends? Could she ever be just friends with Jess? It wasn't really such a bad idea. Anyway if she said no then he would think that she still was upset about all that had happened. So she put on her best smile and said, "Friends."  
  
Jess knew that it wasn't that simple. He also knew that now that she had said it she would attempt to follow through, even if it was only because she said it. Their eyes remained silently focused on one another until a voice was heard close to them.  
  
"Excuse me? Can I maybe get a cup of coffee here?"  
  
Jess snapped his head to look at who was talking. It was a girl about their age with dark hair and bright green eyes. "I'm kind of in a rush if you don't mind," she continued. "Oh yeah sure sorry." Jess rushed to fill a cup for her.  
  
"So you work here?" she asked. Jess nodded and walked into the back. The girl turned to Rory, "You know him?"  
  
Rory trying to suppress a small twinge of jealousy replied, "Yeah, I mean I did, he ... he just came back yesterday."  
  
The girl smiled. "Well I'm glad he did. I'm Alexis."  
  
"I'm Rory. Are you new here?"  
  
"I'm staying with my aunt for a little while. She just had twins on top her the four kids she already has. She asked me if I could help out and since I'm in between jobs I thought it would be a nice change of scenery. From what I can see it is." She nodded towards the back room. "Well I have to go, it was nice meeting you."  
  
As she left Lorelai walked back in to Rory. "I'm sorry Rory I have to go to the inn now. Who was that?"  
  
"Alexis. Jess's newest admirer." Not wanting to sound jealous, she added, "She seems nice."  
  
Lorelai nodded. She knew this wasn't easy on Rory, she just wasn't sure why it was this hard. "Okay well you have to go to work anyway right?"  
  
"Yeah, unfortunately. I'm so tired still from being sick last night." Both Gilmores stood and left for work. 


	4. town slut

Disclaimer: blah blah not mine  
  
"So..Jess..right?" Jess looked up from the counter to see Alexis. He sighed and nodded. She smiled and leaned on the counter, obviously trying to display her cleavage for him. Noticing her actions, he made a point not to look there.  
  
"Can I get you anything?" He was obviously not interested in small talk.  
  
"How about some dinner, want to join me?" She looked up at him, fairly confident.  
  
"Already ate. What would you like?" He noticed her confidence being replaced with determination.  
  
"Well what time do you get off tonight?"  
  
"Are you going to order? Do you need a menu? Do you want to here specials? This is a diner... those are your options." Luke who had been observing this interaction form the other side of the counter was trying to contain his laughter. Jess glared.  
  
"What's wrong Jess? Got a girlfriend? Wife?" She put on an innocent smile before adding, "boyfriend?"  
  
"Didn't you say you were here in between jobs? Maybe you should focus on finding a job instead of finding a date."  
  
Just as he turned walk away, she called after him. "Who do you think you are? That is none of your business. You walk around here acting all arrogant, but I know your just as lost as I am."  
  
This struck a nerve with Jess and he walked back over to her. "What are you looking for in me? One night? That's about all I'm good for. I'm not being arrogant, I'm being honest. You need to figure out your life and I'm just going to be a distraction, a waste of time."  
  
"You don't know me. If you did, maybe you'd know I need a distraction right about now."  
  
Unable to bear the confusion in her eyes, he looked out the window. Outside, he saw Rory and Mike. They looked so perfect he wanted to throw up. Instead he turned to Alexis and said, "Don't say I didn't warn you." With that he turned to a surprised Luke and excused himself.  
  
--  
  
The next morning Rory and her mother met at Luke's for coffee. Just as they ordered, Jess walked in the door. Luke raised his eyebrows but didn't say a word. Rory's face paled slightly. She tried to cover it up quickly, but Lorelai noticed.  
  
"Spill it."  
  
"What?" Rory tried to look normal. This was the last thing she wanted to discuss.  
  
"Why the reaction?"  
  
Rory sighed. "He's just getting home." Noticing that Lorelai didn't seem to get what she was saying, she continued. "He was out with Alexis last night, and he's just getting home now."  
  
"Wow. She moves fast. Didn't she just get here like yesterday? Come on Rory, he might have just gone out on an errand. He probably didn't stay over."  
  
Rory didn't appear comforted. "He was wearing that last night. I saw them leaving the diner."  
  
"Why does this even matter? You're engaged, to a wonderful man. Why do you care what Jess does?"  
  
Rory knew she was right. She shouldn't care. It was just so complex. "Well you know me and Jess talked and we're supposed to be friends now. I am purely looking out for my friend who seems to have begun relations with the town slut."  
  
"Can she be the town slut yet? She's only been here a day. I think there's some kind of residency requirement for that."  
  
Rory smiled. "Soooo not the point."  
  
---------  
  
After work, Rory had an urge to stop by Luke's and see if she could get Jess alone for a few minutes. She smiled when she saw him at the counter.  
  
"Hey Jess," she greeted as she sat at the counter.  
  
He smiled and handed her coffee. "Where were you?" He gestured to her clothes.  
  
"Oh, um I was at work. I work at a paper, um in Hartford. So um how about you.. what did you do today." What she really meant was last night.  
  
"Nothing. Helped Luke out for awhile. Read some." He knew what she wanted to know but he wasn't going to make this easy on her.  
  
"So I noticed you and Alexis went out last night. How'd that go?" She stared out the window as she asked it. She didn't know if it was her place to ask.  
  
Jess smirked at her. "It went."  
  
Just as she was about to continue, her phone rang. "Oh that's Mike, I really should be getting home now. Um... it was nice talking to you."  
  
As she left Luke emerged from the back room. "She seems concerned."  
  
"Well it's not really her place. She's engaged."  
  
"So you and Alexis..."  
  
"Are nothing. We went out. That's it. I wouldn't start planning the wedding."  
  
Luke sighs and goes back to the kitchen. ____  
  
Rory goes straight to Mike's apartment. She takes out her key and lets herself in. He had called and told her to meet him there in half an hour. She was five minutes early. After all the time she had spent there, she still felt uncomfortable at his place. They were just so different. His apartment was so... adult. She always wanted to just hide a Hello Kitty towel in the middle of all his white towels, just to see his reaction. She never did it though, because maybe she was a little scared that he wouldn't understand. Her cell phone jolted her out of her thoughts.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Hey sweetie. Listen, I'm soooo sorry but I have to work late tonight. My boss told me that they are having a really important meeting that I have to stay for. I'll make it up to you?"  
  
"Yeah, sure. Love you, bye." She sighed and hung up the phone. 'I guess it's back to Luke's.' 


	5. Celebrate with me?

a/n: hmmm this was a long time ago..I barely remembered this story. Okay well I promise I will be updating all my stories soon so stick with me, be patient, and review like crazy. Reviews are what made me want to update them all to begin with!!

Walking into the diner Rory saw Jess reading intensely behind the counter. Smiling, she sat down in front of him.

"Coffee please."

"Jesus," he muttered as he almost fell off his bench. "That's dangerous, you know."

"Aw, James Dean scared of little me?"

He glared. "Mocking me while asking for a favor, hmmm, not your brightest idea."

"No no I meant it in a good way." She pouted before continuing, "Coffee please?"

He sighed and poured her some coffee.

"So where's Mike?"

"He had a thing. A work type of thing."

"Ah yes a work "type of thing." Did they teach you about "work types of things" at Yale?"

"You know what I mean. Anyway I was bored and lacking caffeine so here I am."

Jess smirked.

"So anyway, now that you know why I'm here, how about telling me why you're here?"

His face became very serious. "Why I'm here? Well..."

His explanation was interrupted by Alexis walking into the diner. Jess rolled his eyes but she didn't seem to notice.

"Jess!!" She came running in and sat next to Rory. "Oh hi Rory." She added as if she had just noticed her.

"So last night was amazing." She smiled up at him expectantly.

He looked at Rory uncomfortably. "Oh I actually have to get going. Um this conversation though…it's not over." She flashed him a fake smile. He responded with a nod and she was gone.

Alexis, very conscious of the exchange she just witnessed turned to Jess. "She's engaged you know."

Jess just stared at her and went into the storage room. When he came out, Alexis was gone.

The next day as Rory was walking through Doose's, she spotted Alexis. She made a quick turn but was spotted in the process.

"Rory!" Alexis suddenly extremely friendly ran over to her. "So listen, you know how I told you I was looking for a job? Well is there anywhere around here that I could maybe pick up a few suits? I mean I didn't pack anything that would really be appropriate to wear while looking for a job and I don't really know what's around here."

"Oh well um, there are some really nice places in Hartford. I'm sure you aunt could give you directions." Rory was trying to be nice but wanted this meeting to be over as soon as possible.

"Well, do you think maybe you'd want to go with me? I mean I hate shopping alone and we could have lunch and stuff. It could be fun."

Not being able to think of an easy way out, Rory gave in. "Sure. Um when?"

"How about an hour?"

"Great."

Rory ran home in a panic. "MOM, MOM!! Please tell me you're up and home still. I have the worst news ever." As she entered the kitchen she saw her mom and Mike sitting at the table. "Oh hi, I didn't know you were coming over."

Mike went over and kissed her. "Well I wanted to surprise you."

"What's wrong honey?" Lorelai asked.

"Oh so I was at the grocery store minding my own business when I ran into Alexis. I couldn't hide in time. Then somehow she gets me to agree that I will go shopping and have lunch in Hartford with her in an hour!!! I don't know how it happened, I didn't even see it coming."

"Aw honey it will be fine. Just tell her you like the first couple things she finds and it will be over before you know it."

Mike still looked puzzled. "I don't understand. What's so bad about Alexis?

Rory sighed. What was so bad about Alexis other than her infatuation with Jess? "She's just, I don't know. We don't have anything in common."

"Well I think it's good. I mean you need more girlfriends. Anyway, she's new in town. I think you should give her a chance."

"You're right."

Lorelai, for once, kept her mouth shut.

Shopping went smoothly, and the two girls almost considered each other friends by the end of the trip. Alexis was relieved to hear how happy Rory was with her fiancé and Rory even bought some stuff. Alexis even came over the next day and hung out with Rory and Lorelai for a little while. Rory and Jess were becoming closer friends too. They even made the occasional bookstore trip together, just like old times.

It was about one week after the shopping trip that Alexis made her way into the diner for the first time since her and Jess's last conversation. Lorelai, Rory, and Mike were all having dinner when she came in, dressed in one of the outfits she and Rory had bought. She smiled at them as she passed and made her way to the counter.

Jess looked up at her surprised. He thought she had given up on him. She looked stunning in the tailored three piece suit that showed off her figure without being too revealing.

"I got a job." She smiled at him coyly and held up a bottle of champagne. "I was wondering if you wanted to come celebrate with me?"

He looked at her, and then glanced over at the Gilmore table. They seemed happy, a perfect family. Looking back at her he replied, "I'll be out front in a minute." He then went in the back to tell Luke he was leaving.


End file.
